"Hello, Luna. How do you think Equestria's new guests are faring?" Celestia welcomed her sister.

"Quite well, Tia. Though tell me, why does it seem like it seems like the vast majority of them are single, young adults?" Luna asked. Celestia couldn't help but smile.

"Oh no reason...but if there is one way to help foster friendly relations..."

"Oh my-Tia! That's just..." Luna began to blush.

"Effective, as far as I can see. I also made sure to have a surplus of ponies trained to marry those that do fall in love."

"That's...one way to do it I suppose...are humans and ponies...compatible?"

"The doctors aren't sure... Well we should know before long." Celestia grinned mischievously.

"I'll give you ten bits to drop the towel!" I blurted out.

"Deal." And despite what I expected, Jacob's towel dropped.

I'm almost certain my brain blew a fuse right then because I could not formulate words for the life of me.

"Well shit!" Bon-Bon said in surprise. I walked closer for a better look after my mind started working again

"Ah ah! You can look but not touch." He grinned and spun in a slow circle, showing off the goods.

I would bite into that ass like an apple...

"Now that's just cruel." I huffed in mock frustration. Though in reality I was more than a little shocked that he actually did it.

"I'm not that easy you know." He put the towel back on.

"Just cheap then." Bon-Bon raised an eyebrow.

"Nope. Just a tease."

"Oh, yeah because we're totally interested in you." She said in a sarcastic voice.

"You're still looking down so..."

"Ah! Was not! Lyra?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure. What she said." I snapped out of my daydream fantasy.

"So...what now?" Bon-Bon scratched idly at the floor.

"We could try a nice dinner date." I suggested

"But aren't most humans monogamous?" Bon-Bon looked to Jacob.

"If you two are fine with it I have no issues." He shrugged.

"Well we just ate but what about breakfast tomorrow?" Bon-Bon suggested.

"Sounds good...maybe we should get some sleep...first day in an entirely new universe is kind of a lot to soak in..." Jacob added with a muffled yawn.

After a "calm and reasonable" argument about which room Jacob was more welcome to sleep in, Jacob himself decided to sleep on the couch to avoid "a potentially apocalyptic" feud. Bon-Bon and I instead agreed to sleep in her room and let Jacob sleep in mine so I could make sure she would keep her grubby hooves off Jacob...though she said it was the other way around. Just to be sure though I may have tied one of her hooves to the bed post...

"When you want it the most there's no easy way out-" I woke up to hear someone singing. I glanced over to Bon-Bon whom was still napping. Nope, not her. I slipped quietly from bed and followed the sound to my room. It sounded like there was music being played with it. I cracked open the door and peeked inside. The first thing I saw was Jacob sitting on the edge of the bed with a device in hand listening to music from it. It didn't take long for him to notice me as well.

"Oh! Hey Lyra! Sorry, I didn't realize how well sound carried in here. Hope I didn't wake you guys up." He shut the device off and shrugged.

I put a hoof to my mouth and yawned. "It's alright. Bon-Bon could sleep through a hurricane anyway...she has actually. Who were you listening to anyway? I've only heard a bit of Earth music thus far. It's a bit different, but pretty incredible. I know Vinyl damn near had a heart attack when she saw some of Earth's music libraries."

"Oh um...Celine Dion. Yeah...anyway it is pretty cool to see the cultural exchange going on."

"It is. It's just so much to take in for either side. I can't even begin to imagine what it'll look like ten years from now." I sat down on the bed beside him and wondered aloud. "I know you're still new here but where do you think you'll be in ten years?"

"Heh, if I try to take this all in at once my head might explode. Well I'll have to earn my keep at some point but Equestria has nothing but job opportunities. It's ridiculous. And with both our worlds able to open a portal to other worlds and universes and stuff? Whew! That'll kick off the biggest economic and cultural boom in history easily. I am really excited to see what the future holds for humanity, as well as Equestria and everywhere else near it."

"Yeah, though you gotta wonder what else that could bring. It could cause problems in ways we might not see right now. But what I wanted to ask was more specifically tailored to you. What does Jacob Heller picture himself doing ten years from now if he is still in Equestria?"

"I'm not quite sure...I sure hope I'm still on good terms with you and Bon-Bon. Maybe I could get an interesting job here. Kinda wanna work with some gryphons at some point. I always thought black-smithing would be something I'd like to learn but if that doesn't work I have a bit of carpentry experience too."

"Oh wow. That's kinda cool. Hell maybe I could go with you if you visit the Gryphon Kingdoms. Believe it or not I've always had a thing for archery. Not just that I mean I would like if I could create a bow and some arrows from scratch and use them."

"Nice. Well who says we'd have to wait ten years? After breakfast we could try to find out more about it for the future. It would be good to at least know where to go." He suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. But anyway I wanted to bring it up while I had the chance."

"Alright, bring what up?"

"I know things here have gone kinda fast, I mean you haven't even been here a full twenty-four hours. I hope Bon-Bon and I aren't being too forward or seem y'know... "easy". I don't want you to feel uncomfortable and I wanted to establish now that if you do start to feel that way it's alright and we'll give you some breathing room. You shouldn't feel pressured about anything. We're from two different worlds after all so some things might appear different." I confessed. "And if the three of us don't work out I just hope we can all still live together.

He seemed to pause for a moment before smiling and looking back at me. "Thanks. I appreciate it. And you two are good don't worry. It is going faster than how this kind of thing would go on Earth but at least you guys know what you want and make that known. Back on Earth, holy crap you would not believe how many mind games some girls back home like to play. It's maddening and really this is a nice change of pace."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well that's a relief. And I understand your pain. Guys here can be frustrating because they can be so damn oblivious! Stallions are so dense!"

"I'll have to take your word for it. Not much into stallions." He smirked.

"So anyway what are you-" I began until a great monstrous roar echoed from Bon-Bon's room.

"Ow! Damn it! LYRA!"

"Oh shit. Hide me. Hide me now" I frantically searched for a place to hide from the wrath of Bon-bon.

"Quick. Behind the pillows. I'll lean against them to make in convincing." He suggested. I slipped behind the pillows and he laid against them. Only a moment later did Bon-Bon charge with a wild, angry look on her face. I carefully tucked a pillow to cover the spot over my face.

"Where is she!?"

"I think she's in the kitchen. What'd she do anyway?"

"She tied me to the bucking bedpost! That led to me smacking headfirst into the floor!" I had to bite my tongue to stop from laughing at that image. I could practically hear the scowl she threw his way before tearing through the rest of the room like a hurricane.

"You're in on this I know it." She said, probably scolding Jacob.. "Lyra!" She stomped on the floor and carefully looked around again.

Then I accidentally shook the pillows I was hiding behind with a prodigiously loud sneeze. "Shit" Before Bon-Bon could react I leaped out and bolted through the door with the crazed mare in tow. Jacob waited patiently before following us out to make sure there wouldn't be any murders today.

Somehow within the span of about three seconds the couch had been over-turned, as had the table. Bon-Bon was in the center of the room covered in some kind of strange goo while trying to jab me with a broom while I hanged from what appeared to be a remarkably strong ceiling fan.

"Does this kind of thing happen often?" He asked incredulously

"Usually a couple times a month." Bon-Bon answered without looking away.

A moment later there was a knock at the door. Everyone stopped and looked towards the door. "Just a minute!" Bon-Bon answered.

"Alright! This the home of Lyra and Bon-Bon?" The feminine voice called. Jacob's eyes seemed to widen in recognition.

"Wait a minute..." He whispered cautiously.

"Yes it is! Here, let me open the door." A moment later Bon-Bon turned the handle and the door swung inwards to reveal a young woman standing in the door way with a single, large red suitcase in tow. Immediately her eyes darted towards Jacob. She looked at him in much the same way a lion might look at a gazelle.

"Oh fuck."

"JACOB!" In an incredible burst of speed and agility she appeared to dive clear across the living room and tackled him in a hug. The wind was knocked out of him and they both tumbled to the floor. Her long, dark hair could only barely conceal her bright green eyes and wide smile.

"Hey Jacob." From out the corner of his eye he must have noticed me giving him the death glare as I slowly spun around, clinging to the ceiling fan. Until I started slipping at least.

"Oh no." A thud followed immediately after, followed by me ever-so graciously attempting to regain balance. A few shaky steps later and I was starting beside Jacob and his "friend" on top of him. "Jacob...do you know her?" I whispered to him.

"Yeah. This is Samantha...Samantha Heller..." I explained. She stood up off of him and waved to me.

"You have a WIFE!?" I yelled in surprise. In the blink of an eye she flashed a grin at Jacob.

"Oh yes...come on honey...surely there's somewhere we can be alone..." She said with a smirk. He groaned as I stared at the two of them in disbelief. How could he have not told us he was already with someone!?" Behind me I could faintly pick up the sound of Bon-Bon laughing.

"Not quite...she's my older sister..." He said in a flat tone.

"Buzzkill." Samantha pouted.

Oh...yeah I can see how they might look similar...I thought to myself. "What are you doing here anyway?" I asked suspiciously.

She smiled and swept the hair from in front of her eyes. "I'm gonna stay here with y'all!" She cheered. "Well...if you'll agree to have me anyway..." She coughed awkwardly into her fist.

Lyra and I exchanged awkward glance.

"That's um...pretty abrupt to be honest." Bon-Bon said uncomfortably.

"Yeah. I have to agree with Bon-Bon. We're easy-going but a heads up would have been nice." I rubbed the back of my neck and avoided eye contact. "I thought it was only supposed to be one human per host. Isn't it?"

"There's nothing against it but it's usually like that. The family I got assigned to had just had a kid-er foal and I felt like a stranger there at the same time might just cause tension...plus I would really like to be near someone I know until I get situated, like my brother." The excitement and energy Samantha had displayed initially really seemed to wane and show a slightly more reserved side of her although underneath she just seemed to hum with life. "You have no real reason to say yes but I would appreciate it greatly and of course I'd carry my own weight.

"Well..." Bon-Bon began. "It's not so much that we mind you staying, but there's only 3 bedrooms. You could certainly split it with Jacob if he doesn't mind."

She cracked a smile and glanced at Jacob. "What do ya' say? Come on, it'll be just like when we were kids...minus the cat though."

"Man, I miss Gollum right about now." He sighed and looked at the ceiling. "But yeah, if they're fine with it I can't argue."

"Yay!" She cheered and hugged him. "I'll give you a chance to change into something while I chat with our hosts." Jacob chuckled and hugged her in return before wandering back into the room they would be sharing.

"Gollum?" I asked, glancing expectantly at both Jacob and Sam.

"Huh? Oh he's just the cat we had when we were kids. Named after a character in a movie. Jacob picked it because the cat didn't chew his food too much before he swallowed so he'd cough it back up sometimes and it sounded like the character Gollum coughing. And thus the name."

"Oh. Okay. So um what happened to him?"

"He um...had to be put to sleep. He made it to a nice old age for cats at least. He made it to like fourteen before he started getting sick all the time. He was a bit quirky but Jacob especially loved him." She glanced towards the room he was in. "I missed him sure be it seemed to hit Jacob pretty hard. That was a few years ago.

"We're sorry to hear that." Bon-Bon chimed in. I remember the cat my family had when I was small. Timber always found ways to cause mischief but he never bothered me. He was my little partner is crime when it caused to making trouble." She said with a soft laugh."

"My dad used to have a falcon." I raised a hoof. They flashed me an odd look.

"Why a falcon?" Samantha asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well thing is he was going on a hike with his friend once and they found this injured falcon. He decided to take it home and nurse it back to health. While he did he said he began to really bond with it. Has always had a thing for falcons since. One he has now is named Varren." I thought back to the time the bird tried to land on my horn. He was friendly sure, though a bit clingy. "My dad always got a little lonely while writing."

"Oh yeah...I remember now!" Bon-Bon said with wide eyed look. "Wasn't that around when your mom was taking those cooking classes?"

"Hm" I nodded. "Though that's not the reason. He said that he couldn't focus while my mom was in the room with him writing, that they'd always spend the whole time talking instead whereas he could ramble off all day to the falcon and stay focused."

"Cool! So what kind of stories does he write?" Samantha perked up.

"Adventure and romance novels at first. Though lately he's drifted a bit more towards mystery." My mom proof-reads too and helps with editing.

"That's awesome! Think I might be able to read one of his books?." Samantha tilted her head.

"Oh sure! In fact I've got copies of most of his books tucked away somewhere. I'll show you sometime later tonight."

Just as Samantha opened her mouth to speak Jacob walked out of his room with a new set of clothes.

"I can't believe at least half of your shirts are still collared." Samantha burst out laughing.

"I look good in collared shirts..." He protested.

"Yeah. Cuz that's why you started wearing them."

"What's so odd about collared shirts?" I asked Samantha.

"Nothing really. He started wearing them years ago so our mom wouldn't see all the hickeys his girlfriends used to leave on him. Jacob Heller! The breaker of hearts! The desire of all women! The- Bahahaha! I can't do it!" She bent over laughing. After several minutes of the back and forth mocking that seemed iconic of all siblings Samantha eventually broke it off and drifted into the room she'd be sharing with her brother to unpack and settle in a bit.

"Well...I don't know about y'all but I'm going to bed." Bon-Bon yawned. "Behave you two. Remember we're going out for breakfast tomorrow morning so don't stay up too late." She waved before going to her own room.

With the others two taking care of their own business Jacob and I sat around in the living room discussing anything that came to mind. We bounced between a myriad of topics such as his first thoughts when he met a pony and my first thoughts upon seeing a human. Although there was a vast amount of differences, there were a striking number of similarities once boiled down to roots.

I can't be sure all what we discussed because before I knew it we both started to doze off. My last memory of the night was talking to him about science fiction movies from his world before drifting off to sleep, curled up beside him on the couch.

Author's Note

Surprise! I'm not dead after all!

Hey guys, I know it's been a while and I'm probably a little rusty but I hope you enjoyed! I was definitely eager to introduce Samantha as a character and I'm sure you'll enjoy her.

While this and Playing With Fire are in the same universe I'm trying to keep this one along more of a light-hearted comedy/ romance(ish) and the other more of a drama/adventure/romance, just a note for y'all.